St Mark’s GAA representing Dublin in One Good Club

A COMMUNITY has been heavily engaged with a plethora of different events which are part of a five-step mental health awareness programme.

St Mark’s GAA club was picked as the Dublin representatives for the One Good Club initiative, a nationwide programme which aims to build and encourage positive mental health promotion.

This 10-week programme has seen the club putting their innovation caps on to engage their community in a heap of different events.

“For a small club from Tallaght to be picked to represent Dublin in the national One Good Club youth mental health initiative holds a lot of gravity – and that gravity is not lost on us,” One Good Club project team leader at St Mark’s, Denise Paisley, tells The Echo.

“We have a committee of people who are working tirelessly organising events every single week to fit the five different themes, which are based around the five-a-day for your mental health.”

The Lidl programme is run in conjunction with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and Jigsaw, using an evidence-informed framework made up of simple actions aimed at boosting one’s mental health and wellbeing.

This framework is known as the ‘five a day for your mental health’, with events organised by the Tallaght club focused on each step of the framework.Those involved with the club’s juvenile section recently took notice of the people in their club through a Wellness Tree, an especially commissioned piece of artwork that they all contributed their handprints to.

As part of the ‘give’ theme, everyone in the surrounding community came together to clean McGee Park and on the ‘be active’ weeks, there was a ladies football blitz aimed at women who did not play the sport.

“The reception and engagement with our events have been incredible,” Ms Paisley adds.

“Hundreds of people from not only our club, but the surrounding communities are coming in droves to participate in events such as the sports day, the community clean-up day, or the movie night. Then we’re getting great internal engagement around our buddy bench, wellness tree or meditation sessions with teams.

With keep learning week currently in full flow at St Mark’s, kids in the summer camp are learning Oró Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile, handball, and all about pollination by planting flowers.

In the final stage of the programme, which is about connecting, the One Good Club committee within St Mark’s is organising a flagship wellness event called Suburban Picnic for July 23.

This is set to be a free event which is open to everyone and will see different exercise or mindfulness-based classes across the day, starting at 11am, at McGee Park.